The Constant
by Wolf Spirit of the Northlands
Summary: Of his most recent companions, in his eyes Veronica had changed the least. Except she didn't. Because no one can stay the same forever. But they enjoyed their adventure, while it lasted. OC story.


**I am so excited about this! I've had this idea for a really long time now. This summer is gonna be a bit busy for me but I hope that I can update every few days. **

**I don't own Doctor who  
**

The whirring of the TARDIS faded to nothing in the silence of the night. Falling snowflakes were illuminated in the orange glow of a street lamp. The Doctor hadn't been expected the alien transmissions that he had been following would lead him to a gas station in the middle of nowhere. The scanner in his hand continued to beep, he looked down at the screen and took note of the location it displayed.

The Doctor stared at his surroundings for a moment longer, checking for anything he had missed, before heading towards the station. Snow crunched beneath his feet and pelted his leather jacket. The door swung open without much effort, and a small bell tinkled as he walked in. The station smelled like cleaning supplies and poorly made coffee.

A bored looking man behind the counter looked up from his newspaper, eyebrows raised. The Doctor walked up to the man, who's name tag read Greg.

"Can I help you?" Greg was American, judging by his accent.

"Yeah, I'm just a bit lost. How do I get to.." He paused to check the address on the scanner. "60179 Circle Grove, from here?"

"Huh. That's one of the cabins, no one really goes there this time of year.." He winced at realizing that he had said to much. "Just, let me write it down." He grabbed a pen from behind the cash register and began to furiously write on the back of a piece of paper.

The Doctor glanced around the badly lit station, hoping to get some idea of where he was.

"Okay, uh here 'ya go." Greg handed the paper to the Doctor.

"Thanks." He took the paper and walked out of the gas station and back to the TARDIS.

He grabbed the handle and swung the TARDIS door open. The Doctor smiled, strolled up to the controls and started to input the location. The TARDIS hummed as the engine started up. The Doctor struggled to keep his balance in the turbulence that shook the TARDIS. The TARDIS landed with a small crash.

The Doctor stuffed the paper in his pocket and pulled out the Sonic Screwdriver. He stepped out of the TARDIS, and took in his surroundings. Like Greg said, he had arrived at a cabin by a lake. Old pine trees surrounded the cabin, a rusted truck was in the drive, having someone there would complicate things for him. Judging by the fact that all of the visible windows were dark, the Doctor figured he wouldn't need to worry about who ever it was interrupting him.

He started up the driveway, scanner in one hand, screw driver in the other. The door's lock opened easily, and he quietly stepped into the pitch dark cabin. A faint scratching noise drifted down the hall. He put the scanner and the Sonic Screw Driver in his jean pockets. The Doctor slid his hands across the wall, feeling for a light switch. Finding none he decided to investigate the scratching noise.

He felt around in the dark, moving blindly in search of the source of the scratching noise. The scratching grew louder, he put a hand on the wall and leaned forward to hear the sound. The Doctor lost his footing and slammed his head onto an unseen surface.

"Damn it!" He hissed, holding a hand to his pounding head.

The Doctor grasped for the surface he hit his head on, he felt ridges in the wood that led down to a door knob. He opened the door and stepped into the room. The lights flickered on, and the scratching sound simultaneously stopped.

He took the scanner out of his pocket, and powered in back up. It beeped steadily as he paced around the kitchen. The cabin's walls were covered in fake wood paneling, that had amazingly lived past the '70s.

Several books were piled on the counter, judging by the titles of the books the subjects included from dog care, botany, and oddly enough, self help books about mental health. On top of the books was a post-it note that said, "Call Dr. Baker." He walked out of the kitchen and into a large room that seemed to have combined the dining and living room. The volume of the beeping rose when the Doctor passed by a closed door.

The door swung open from a light touch, the room was a bedroom. His footsteps were muffled by the carpet, he was standing close enough to see a sleeping woman, and the Great Dane that slept by her legs.

She twitched in her sleep, long white blonde hair covered her shoulders. Her dog lifted his head and stared directly at him. The scanner beeped furiously at the dog. The Doctor winced and edged out of the room.

The dog leapt off of the bed, stretched his legs and plodded towards the Doctor.

_"Dog-like aliens, dog-like aliens? Where have I seen this before?" _ Lists of possible species ran through the Doctor's head.

The dog sat down in front of him, and a small piece of metal on the dog's collar caught his eye. He strode over to the dog, and pulled it off of his collar without effort. The metal translator identified the dog as a member of the Kilsan Tribe.

The Kilsan Tribe was made up of a group of dog like aliens who could pass through certain types of glass. In the past hundred years the Tribe had tried and failed to invade the planet Ravelin, the bloody battle had ended in the near complete eradication of the Kilsans.

"Ya' won't be needing that translator, the TARDIS'll do it for you. Now what exactly are you doin' on Earth? The last time the Klisan tribe attempted to take over a planet that didn't end very well."

"Timelord, I am Sorrel of the Kilsan Tribe, and you should of all beings should know that our failure at Ravelin was because of our weak leader. He was the last to fall in the battle at Ravelin, and this time it will be different. We have the advantage." The dog's voice was low and ominous. He stood up and walked through the sliding glass door.

"An advantage? What are you talking about?" The Doctor muttered, as he ran to the door, not even bothering to close it behind him.

The snow was falling harder and pelted his leather jacket. His frozen breaths hung suspended in front of him like clouds, as he scanned the area. A flash of movement in the forest that surrounded the cabin caught The Doctor's eye.

A Kilsan darted between the trees, it's fur was darker than the one in the house. He was sure that the dog alien hadn't seen him.

_"If there's two then there's bound to be more." _He thought as he ran up the slope and into the woods.

Brittle twigs that broke when his feet trampled over them crackled like fireworks. His breath was ragged in his chest and his paced slowed to a walk. Just beyond him, a large metal hover ship floated in a clearing.

Sorrel reappeared, and hundreds more of the Kilsans stood around the ship, scattered in the immense woods. The Doctor ducked behind a rock near the edge of the clearing, keeping an eye on the dog aliens.

The dog alien leapt on top of the hover ship, and positioned himself so he looked down on the rest of his species.

"Kilsans, ever since out slaughter at Ravelin, we have been weak. But tonight we rise-" The Doctor tuned out the rest of Sorrel's speech as he circled the ship from behind the trees.

The Hover ship was shaped like an upside down bowl with an eerie white glow from the center. The glowing core seemed oddly familiar to the Doctor, as if he'd seen something like it before.

"If I could only remember where I've seen it, then I could stop it!" He whispered excitedly.

The Doctor whipped out the Sonic Screwdriver, and attempted to scan the glowing center. He suspected it was some sort of cloaking device for the engine, that may have also doubled as a type of perception filter. The Sonic beeped, signaling that it was too far away to get a reading. He inched closer to the ship, hoping that the Kilsans were distracted enough by the speech not to notice him.

His gaze hovered between the ship and the ground, watching for any thing that could trip him or signal his presence. Sorrel had been speaking for a good five minutes, and he was bound to end soon. The Doctor didn't want to think about what could happen if he was discovered. His success or failure could decide the fate of the world.

He was mere inches from the ship, he started the Screwdriver up again. Now that he was up close, he could see that the glow seemed to be protecting what ever was behind it. Not a cloaking device. The Doctor glanced down at the Sonic Screwdriver, the results had come in.

"What?" He muttered. "Microbicillium particles? That can't be right, that wouldn't do anything than more than disguise the ship. I didn't think anybody still used this."

He looked back up at the ship, the particles could dissipate with just a touch. Leaving the ship vounerable, and easy to take down. But what good would that do if he still didn't know their advantage?

Lost in thought, Sorrel's speech found it's way back to The Doctor's ears.

"… As we all know the trial run was more than successful, the woman suspected nothing, and I believe that if we can accomplish such results with one human we can do it with thousands. If we push her over the edge tonight she will be the first of a million patients at a mental hospital…"

_"What the hell am I hearing?"_ The Doctor stared at Sorrel, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together. _"Wait, when the Kilsans speak their mouths don't move. If you didn't know that it wasn't a dog than it would sound like-" _He paused to take in the rush of knowledge that flooded his mind. "I've got it!" He shouted.

The Doctor froze, Sorrel turned around from his position on the ship. Nothing moved except for the still falling snow.

His hearts pounding, the Doctor grinned and pulled out the Sonic in a flash.

"What are you-" The Kilsan Tribe's leader was cut off by the earsplitting sound that came from the Sonic Screwdriver. The dog aliens whined, their hearing like dogs, was far better than a humans and their pain was magnified on a large scale.

The Doctor turned off the noise, and started bolted in the same instant. The Kilsans barked furiously as they ran after him. His head start could only last so long.

He flew down the hill and back towards the open door of the cabin, the Kilsans chasing after him. The pine needles beneath his feet were slick from the snow, and it took all of his combined effort not to fall flat on his face.

The Doctor ran back into the cabin, and shut the sliding glass door. Though the Kilsans could pass through glass, doing so would still slow them down. Their thunderous barking kept getting closer and closer. He had to find the woman. Only she had the last piece of the puzzle.

He rushed to the place where he thought her bedroom was. It was empty. A lamp had been turned on and the blankets had been thrown off of the bed.

"Oh no." He muttered, fearing the worst, even though she was a total stranger.

He whirled around, she had to be somewhere. The first Kilsan was nearly at the door, and The Doctor didn't know what would happen if he couldn't find her. A faint shuffling noise, caught his attention, it was too gentle for the Kilsans to have made.

Slowly, he turned around. She stood in the kitchen, her slippers on the tile floor had made the scratching sound. Her pale green eyes were wide with fear.

"Oh, god I'm really going insane, aren't I?" Her statement only confirmed his theory. The Doctor ran up to her and grabbed her hand, the first Kilsan had reached the door.

"Look, we need to run. Now. Can you trust me?" She nodded and he squeezed her hand. "Good."

They took off down the hallway, the first few Kilsans had already come through the door and had already started barking and chasing them. The front door was still unlocked from when he had soniced it.

A few Kilsans were waiting for them outside, as soon as the two of them burst out of the cabin they were on their heels.

"What the hell is happening?" she shouted over the barking. He was amazed that he still didn't know her name.

"I'll explain when we get to the TARDIS." He yelled back.

"What's a TARDIS?" She asked.

"That!" He pointed at the TARDIS. They were half way there and the Kilsans were only a yard behind them. "What's your name?"

"Veronica!"

"I'm the Doctor," he pulled the TARDIS door open, gesturing for her to go in. "And I promise you're aren't insane!"

The Kilsan tribe closed in just as he slammed the door shut. The TARDIS began to hum and slowly disappear, leaving them barking at nothing but snow.

**That is one of the longest chapters I've ever written. I'd love to get some constructive comments/criticism on this. Oh and any opinions on the book cover? **

**~Spirit**


End file.
